Homegrown e-tailer Reebonz has invested US$29 million (S$40 million) to build an eight-storey e-commerce hub in Tampines to enhance its cross-border operations.
Launched on Tuesday (May 30), the new headquarters will house Reebonz’s management and operations as well as its entire warehousing and distribution facilities.
The 200,000-square-foot space is four times larger than its previous office and distribution centre, housing over 500,000 product types – this is more than 11 times its previous capacity.
“The Reebonz e-commerce hub will be a platform for us to scale across the region in terms of having a centralised distribution centre that will distribute our products across 17 countries around the world,” said Reebonz CEO Samuel Lim.
“We’ve invested heavily into warehouse management systems, distribution management systems, being able to integrate the whole operations within one central location – I think that’s important to scale.”
Helping Smaller Companies To Grow
Minister of Trade and Industry S Iswaran, who was present at the launch, commented that players like Reebonz help to “uplift the entire retail sector”.
“Smaller companies might be reluctant to start due to lack of scale or technical skills. Others may face challenges in reaching out to new customers and coordinating processes for e-commerce fulfilment,” he said.
But these smaller companies can leverage e-marketplaces like Reebonz Boutiques to list their products, which requires less resources than a standalone platform, and eases access to global markets. In other words, Reebonz serves as a platform for them to amplify their brand reach regionally and globally.
He also highlighted how Reebonz’s e-marketplace has emerged as an online incubation space for emerging designers and local entrepreneurs.
“Emerging designers and local entrepreneurs have a simple, less risky space to refine their branding and test new products,” he said. “I urge more local brands to take advantage of such platforms to scale up and enter new markets.”
Incubation Hub In The Pipeline
The e-commerce hub will not only house the offices and warehouse space, but it will also feature a dedicated exhibition space for boutique items.
Reebonz is bringing independent luxury designers under its roof to showcase their products there, while also helping them market and sell online.
This is also where the authentication and grading of items happens. Experts verify that products are authentic and grade them according to their condition, using an invisible ink-like pen to mark the item.
In the future, Reebonz also expressed its plans to house an incubation hub for local luxury startups and designers in the future.
China Is Their Biggest Market
Besides Singapore, Reebonz currently has offices in Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, and Taiwan.
Similarly, its products are shipped in several markets worldwide, including the US and China.
According to TechInAsia, China is their biggest markets right now, along with Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea.
No actual figures regarding funding or revenue were disclosed but Daniel Lim, CEO of Reebonz, shared his plan to “keep growing the company within its specialised niche – luxury e-commerce”.
“We want to stay in the game, and the key is to be sustainable without requiring tons and tons of capital.”
Featured Image Credit: Reebonz